Sunday, December 06, 2009

Not justified? Why should anyone justify – ICC put a ranking system in place 8 years back agreeable to all test playing nations and we passed through that system to gain the top spot. So all those who are shouting hoarse as to how India does not deserve to be at the top, please shout more and lose your voices. Fact of the matter is we are at the top and that’s it!

We have had 3 series wins outside – WI, Eng (2007) and NZ ( 2009). We beat Aus at home in 2008 and drew with SA. Barring SA, the only team to have challenged the Aussies during their decade of dominance was India. Only the 2004 home series was forgettable; while in all others we dominated equally. We won the epic 2001 series, we levelled 2003 series in Australia, 2007 was almost ours if not for that awful,awful Sydney test, and in 2008 we decimated the Aussies at Home.

We won test matches in Eng, WI , Zimbabwe, SL, NZ, Pak and SA in the said period and recorded our first test series wins in Pak(2004) and NZ(2009) and series wins after ages against England(2007) and WI(2006).

Statistics below in terms of matches played and series played.

Particulars

Ind

Particulars

Ind

Total no. of tests played

97

Total no. of test-series played

33

Won

38

Won

17

Lost

24

Lost

9

Drawn

35

Drawn

7

Overall Success %

39.17

Overall Success %

51.52

Home

43

Home

15

Away

54

Away

18

Won – Home

20

Won – Home

10

Won – Away

18

Won – Away

7

Success % Home

46.51

Success % Home

66.67

Success % Away

33.33

Success % Away

38.89

We were given a paper to solve, we knew the marks per question and we knew what answers would fetch what amount of marks. The formulae were spelled out and all we had to do was to deliver the results. So we did, we did not cheat or copy like Australia did in the 2007 series in Sydney which would’ve been ours. We solved the paper to the best of our knowledge and we scored the top marks.

So now you think the paper and marks system is a farce cause finally an Asian country got to the top and the big daddies of world cricket stand defeated. Isn't it the same system by virtue of which Aus and SA ruled at the top. No system can be foolproof or perfect and will always have its pros and cons. This one was accepted and now we are at the top. The equation is fairly simple isn't it?

Take a hike – all of you. Yeah we are inconsistent, yeah we don’t have a great bowling attack, yeah our batsmen may not fire all the time and yes we will lose the crown cause our stupid board thinks that test cricket is boring with no tests for 10 months in 2010. But yet, we passed with flying colours and proved a point to the world and our stupid board.

Test cricket is where our heart lies and I speak for all those true cricket fans and for the players. This is where the real skill is tested – it’s now time to say Wake Up BCCI. We need more tests to ensure that we prove it was no fluke and we can sustain ourselves at the top.

A big thank you to Jumbo, The Fab Four – Dada, the Wall, the God & Laxman, the Mad-Man, the New Wall - Gambhir, the Speedsters - Zaheer, Ishant, Pathan, Sreesanth, the spinners - Bhajji,Ojha, Mishra, the Fill-in Guys – Karthik and M. Vijay & Captain Cool. To the entire support staff of the team. To Robin Singh and Venkatesh Prasad. To Mr. Greg Chappell for the turbulence you brought, which helped the team unite against you and prove your crazy proclamations false.

To you Mr. John Wright for showing us the way – for believing in the crazy team when no one did – for instilling that self-belief and finally to you Gary Kirsten, for carrying on the fine legacy of John Wright.

Thank you all for this proud moment– a moment carved in history - one that will be remembered for a long time to come!

You are correct, Congrats to team india. I only think of one thing, lets not over-praise the team, so that they keep performing their best in all forms of cricket. at the moment all news channels and media is praising them, once they loose the next match they will start criticizing the team. Lets keep faith in our team and lets support them.

Dhoni and gang has brought smiles on our faces after a long time, after many bad years and many weak teams. Lets support this bunch for a while to make sure they make the most world records ahead.

I so am angry at the BCCI that we are not playing South Africa and Australia in their respective country right now... we must play there... this is our best chance to win there... !!!!

If ever there was a team that was good despite the board its this team... it gives them no time to relax, there is no planning, there are no practice matches scheduled before important tours and yet this team delivers !!!!

We should be travelling to Australia and South Africa for Tests soonest... they need to do whatever it takes and visit them and quell even the small murmurs !!!!

@pna: hey that is odd - that no update stuff. I use google reader for my blog feeds which has been pretty good! Me doing good - getting pampered!Hope you doing gr8

@Tugga: Aha my long lost friend wakes up! Yeah I committed a crime after all he did take those 6 wickets in Adelaide 2003 to set up our win!

@Jaydeep: I did not surf any news channel. I've concluded that Indian media is the pits currently even NDTV! And that is exactly what the fans and media will do to the team once they lose this ranking in Jan-Feb. We won't sustain it cause we plays on 2 matches until 2010 while SA-eng series is currently on!

@Nita: Agree about that anxiety bit but about sustaining the no 1 slot - comments same as those for jaydeep. Our stupid board is to blame!

@Hitchwriter: Could not agree with you more - scrap those crappy ODIs and T20s and get a 4 test series with Aus and SA - I think we are in a good form to win there!

Life...

For someone who loves being organized and planned in advance, life has taught that one can have none of that how much ever one wants to:-)

I never wanted to live abroad, I tried every possible way to avoid it but now I've completed 3 years of expat life in Dubai.Mumbai, India- My city, my home, my heaven, my love, my lovely country, I don't know how I've survived these years away from you!

I'm trying to get back to my blog to write back about my life and my experiences and yes my thoughts!